he University of California, Davis (UC Davis) is proposing to create a Clinical and Translational Science Center (CISC) which will transform our medical researchenterprise into a highly jeffective "open"academic home for clinical and translational research by building on three key assets: 1) Our long-standing commitment as a land-grant university to serve the geographically disperse and ethnically diverse populations of inland and Northern California with a health care system enabled by one of the broadest and most extensivetelecommunications programs in the world; 2) The collaborative culture of UC Davis, which has one of the most extensive and interdisciplinary life science environments in the country, and 3) An established CSTC pilot facility - the UCDavis Clinical Research Investigator Services Program (CRISP) that serves as the physicalhome for clinical and translational researchand for faculty training andcareer development. CRISP is a fundamentally important CTSC testing ground, where many perceived CTSA barriers have been explored and solutions tested, and through CRISP, we have completed the planning phase for the CTSC. In the organizationalstructure of the UC Davis CTSC, considerable attention is paid to create an organization that is: 1) responsive and familiar to investigators; 2) flexible; 3) well linked to university leadership, to participating academic units, andto the community; and 4) focused on the goal of reducing barriers and facilitating the translation of research gains into medical practice. Key featuresare: Education program focused on "team science"; Extensive collaborations across UC Davis colleges and centers; Introduction of catalyst functions such as CollaborativeResearch Facilitators andtranslational postdoctoral fellowships; Dissemination through tele-technology; Flexible use of resources for patient- oriented research; and a Community engagement program emphasizing trust and respect. The CTSC is under the leadership of two co-Principal Investigators, Drs. Berglund MD, PhD, (P.I.) and Joseph MD,PhD (co-P.I.), supportedby a team of Directors and co-Directorsoverseeing each of the 9 CTSC programs, and a comprehensive committee structure, designed to firmly anchor the CTSC with institutional leadership, faculty, trainees and the community. The UC Davis CTSC will be implemented through a carefully designed, collaborative plan, and the activity will be guided through continuous evaluations and corrections.